Kris Letang deserves considerable Norris Trophy buzz and, make no mistake, the Penguins won’t win the Stanley Cup this spring without him. Sure, they pulled it off in 2017. But things are different now, and Letang is badly needed.

And yet, perhaps his injury has been a blessing in disguise.

Without the one-man breakout machine that is Letang, the Penguins have been forced to drastically alter their style. They aren’t taking many risks right now. They rarely permit odd-man rushes. They aren’t trading chances. And they’re winning.

The Penguins played about as boring of a game as they’re capable of on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena and emerged with a 3-0 victory against the Blue Jackets.

Without Letang, the Penguins are now 4-0-1 and vaulted into third place in the Metropolitan Division standings.

“I think this is how we need to play right now,” Jared McCann said. “We’ve had a lot of people...